Avoiding Lyme Disease

The following information taken from the Centers for Disease Control's pages on Lyme Disease:Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful in the later stages of disease. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping, and integrated pest management. The ticks that transmit Lyme disease can occasionally transmit other tick-borne diseases as well.

Additional Resources

It's Spring–Time to Prevent Lyme Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Describes how to prevent tick bites, checking yourself for ticks, how to remove a tick, symptoms of Lyme Disease, reducing ticks in your yard and on your animals.

Learn About Lyme Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Covers prevention, transmission, symptoms, diagnoses, treatment, statistics, resources, and contacts. The site includes information on How to Correctly Remove a Tick, as well as a link to The TIck Management Handbook (8800 kb, PDF) an 84-page guide for homeowners, pest control operators, and public health officials for the prevention of tick-associated disease, compiled by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Be Tick Free: A Guide for Preventing Lyme Disease, NYS Dept. of Health (2010). Includes information on the prevalence of Lyme Disease in NY State, tick life cycle, information on removing ticks and creating a tick-free zone around your home, tick repellents, and ticks on pets.

Insect Repellents: Use and Effectiveness, Environmental Protection Agency, May 27, 2010. This EPA fact sheet includes a tool for identifying a skin-applied repellent that is appropriate for repelling ticks and/or mosquitos, instructions on how to apply, and length of effectiveness.

Help for Gardeners

Free TickClick App

CCE of Suffolk
County has developed a new FREE app called “TickClick”
to download to your Android or iOS phone or tablet that will identify whether it is, in
fact, a tick, and if so, what health risks are associated with it. The app includes pictures of various types of ticks at different stages of their lifespan.

Tick Identification & Testing

The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) stopped offering tick
identification service as of 7/1/11. Please call our office at the number listed below with questions about local identification of deer ticks.

Ticks also may be sent to
the Cornell University Entomology Department for species identification only, for a fee of $25. Visit their website for a submission form and more information.

The Animal Health Diagnostic Center at the Cornell University Vet School will identify the tick species and provide DNA analysis as to whether the tick they identify tests positive for Lyme Disease. Visit their websitefor a submission form and more information.